


To Make a House a Home

by alessandralee



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Domestic, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Furniture Shopping, IKEA
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-17
Updated: 2014-11-17
Packaged: 2018-02-25 19:47:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2633999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alessandralee/pseuds/alessandralee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Skye and Jemma take a trip to Ikea to buy things for their new apartment.</p>
            </blockquote>





	To Make a House a Home

Jemma has a list. It’s not incredibly long, but she’d like to avoid spending her entire semester’s stipend in one go, so she’s taking things bit by bit. She figures Ikea is a good place to start, after all it’s the Mecca for reasonably priced furniture. She should be able to find everything she needs for her and Skye’s new apartment, without spending all of their money.

Skye, of course, has a much more go with the flow attitude regarding apartment shopping.

So this trip should be a lot of fun.

“Okay,” Jemma actually claps her hands together when they reach the top of the stairs on the viewing room floor, “we need a coffee table and a bookcase for the living room. Then downstairs are the rugs, curtains, blankets, and duvet covers. But they’re scattered around up here too, so let me know if you see anything you like.”

“You do realize I’ve been in Ikea before, right?” Skye tells her. Jemma can be a bit high strung when she has a specific plan, and Skye has learned it’s best to call her on it before things get out of hand.

“Was I doing it again?” Jemma asks, wrinkling her nose. The tone works well when she’s overseeing a bunch of undergrads in lab, but she’s trying to kick the habit in the rest of her life.

“Eh, you’ve been worse,” Skye leans to the side to kiss Jemma on the check. “I’ll let it slide if you promise to only buy the softest blankets we can find.”

“I promise not to buy any textiles that don’t meet with your approval,” Jemma agrees, wrapping her arm around her girlfriend’s shoulder and steering her in the direction of the living room displays.

\---

It’s not terribly hard for them to find a coffee table they like. Jemma’s first choice is a matching set of two glass-top tables.

But when Skye taps lightly on them, and the legs shake, she knows they won’t work.

“This would fall apart the second you put a hot cup of tea on it,” she tells Jemma. “And besides, do you really think glass is a good idea? I’d give Bobbi and the guys ten minutes around it before it winds up broken.”

Jemma has to admit that Skye makes a good point. It would be a shame to waste sixty dollars on something that would fall apart the second Trip tries to rest his feet on it.

Skye’s pick is a low, wide table with a second shelf underneath it. It’s not pretty by any means, but it’s sturdy and won’t show wear, which is what they need. Jemma notes the style, the color (black-brown) and the location (aisle 05, bin 18) on her phone and they move onto the next item on the list.

\---

Logically, Jemma knows all she really needs in a bookcase, it something that will hold her ever-growing book collection without falling over. Once again, it doesn’t need to be pretty.

So of course, she needs Skye to talk her out of buying the $150 bookcase instead of the nearly identical $65 one.

“But it has legs and it matches the coffee table,” she insists.

Skye doesn’t really see how the short, stubby legs warrant an extra $85 on the price tag.

“They’re all brown,” she says.

“No,” Jemma corrects her. “That bookcase is brown, this one is black-brown, like the coffee table.”

“I think we can live with a black-brown coffee table and a brown bookcase, especially when you won’t be able to see the shelves once you put your books on them,” Skye tells Jemma. “Besides, you could get two of these for less than one of those.”

The moment Jemma’s eyes light up, Skye realizes her mistake.

“You’re right, we should definitely get two of the cheaper ones.”

“That’s not what I—“ Skye begins to protest, but then Jemma wraps her arms around Skye’s waist and looks up at Skye through her eyelashes.

It’s a pointless argument to even try to make right now. Maybe when they have a full cart, and Jemma realizes how much money she’s spending, Skye will have a chance of getting her to leave the second bookcase behind. She’ll try again later.

\---

Jemma’s big mistake is trying to take a detour through the bedroom section. Skye takes this as an opportunity to throw herself down onto the first bed she spots.

“Are you sure we don’t need a new bed?” Skye asks, after rolling around on the covers to get comfortable.

“Your father gave us your old mattress and I have a perfectly good bedframe from my old apartment,” Jemma reminds her. What she keeps to herself is how much he likes the way Skye’s mattress smells like her. She’s really looking forwards to being wrapped up in Skye’s scene (and arms) every night.

“But bunk beds,” Skye protests, pointing up to the other bed suspended a few feet above her head.

“Twin size bunk beds,” Jemma specifies. “As in on of us sleeps down here, and the other sleeps up there. Alone.”

That shuts Skye up, at least until she spots a larger bed she likes.

“Ooh, this one’s comfy,” she tells Jemma. “Get in.” She pats the empty space next to her.

“No thank you,” Jemma attempts to decline.

But then Skye breaks out the puppy dog eyes, and Jemma finds herself lying next to her on the bed.

“See, it’s comfy.”

“And unnecessary.”

Reluctantly, Skye pulls herself off the bed and Jemma follows her. But Skye has one more trick up her sleeve.

She tugs up on a rail at the foot of the bed, and the entire mattress swings upwards.

“Look at all the storage space. How can you resist?”

One look at the price tag and it’s suddenly very easy for Jemma to say no, but not before Skye can make one last comment.

“I’m pretty sure you can fit a body in here, and a few of the giant Costco packages of toilet paper.”

“Skye,” Jemma whisper-screams, “people can hear us.”

“Relax,” Skye strings an arm around Jemma’s shoulder and pulls her in to whisper in her ear. “No one’s going to think that two cute twenty-somethings are secretly hiding bodies under their bed.”

Nevertheless, Jemma hurries them downstairs to start looking at small furnishings.

\---

“We don’t need anything for the kitchen, so we can skip straight to textiles. Remember, we need a rug, curtains for the bedroom and the living room, a duvet cover, and throw blankets for the couch,” Jemma adopts her no-nonsense lab instructor voice again as soon as they get downstairs.

Skye responds with her well-practiced you’re-doing-it-again look.

“Sorry,” Jemma picks up on it quickly.

It takes them a while to get through the rugs, mostly because they insist on touching every one that catches their eye.

“So the soft one or the pretty one?” Jemma asks Skye once they’ve narrowed it down to two.

“This one’s _really soft_ ,” Skye has a clear favorite.

“Will it match the couch?” Jemma asks.

“Navy goes with everything,” Skye replies, “We don’t have to worry about the couch.”

“If you insist,” Jemma says, absently running her hand over the soft green rug.

Skye knows she’s won that argument.

\---

“Skye, we can’t do green and navy _and_ red,” Jemma protests when Skye appears with a red throw blanket.

“It comes in other colors,” Skye promises. “Just feel it.”

She lightly rubs the blanket against Jemma’s cheek.

“Mmm,” Jemma refuses to commit, even though it is soft. Skye has a knack for finding all things comfy and cozy. Jemma’s sweater collection had grown exponentially in the two years since they started dating. But Jemma was hoping for something a little more interesting.

Her eyes catch on a blanket on a nearby shelf.

“What about this?” she grabs it and holds it out for Skye. It’s ivory cable knit, and it looks even warmer than Skye’s pick.

“I saw that, but I wasn’t sure if white was a good choice,” Skye sounds concerned.

If only their friends were less messy.

Still, Jemma can’t bring herself to put it back.

“We can hide it when the boys come over,” she suggests. “Or just keep it in the bedroom for cold nights.”

“Or nights when you steal all the blankets and I’m left to freeze to death.”

“I do no such thing.”

Both blankets get thrown in the cart Jemma’s pushing, Skye’s blanket in a Jemma-approved shade of green that matches the living room rug.

\---

Curtains are easy for them to pick out. They grab navy blue for the living room and purple for the bedroom. The only thing they have to consider is whether they should spring for the blackout curtains in the bedroom, or just buy the standard ones.

Early riser Jemma is usually up with the sun anyway, but Skye values her beauty sleep (especially when she works late at her new computer security job), so they decide to go with the blackout curtains.

Finding a decent duvet cover proves impossible, though.

Jemma’s easy to please; she just wants something that won’t clash with their new purple curtains. Skye, on the other hand, has a strict list of qualifications that the duvet must reach.

1\. Nothing white: it’s impossible to keep clean, especially when Skye can’t be bothered to wash off her makeup after work  
2\. Nothing pastel: they’re college graduates, not small children at Easter  
3\. Something with a pattern: mostly because Jemma favors safe, plain choices and most of the stuff in their apartment is already solid colors because of that  
4\. Must meet strict softness guideline: determined by Skye wrapping the blanket around her entire body

Skye rejects the floral set that Jemma picked out for being mostly white, then a deep gray number for not having any pattern. A lavender gingham duvet is too pastel, and a black and white striped one isn’t soft enough. After another two rejections (both for softness, and both involving some strange looks from the other shoppers), Jemma steps back and lets Skye take charge.

Skye pats down everything the store has to offer, but the only thing that fits all her criteria is a moss-colored duvet cover with dark polka-dots.

They decide they can afford to look elsewhere for the right one.

\---

Really, it’s just unfair of Ikea to put all the unnecessary but eye-catching items just before the furniture pick-up. It’s probably a good business strategy, but it’s definitely not good for Jemma and Skye’s impulse control.

Skye doesn’t need a patchwork quilt picture frame, but she wants one. Actually, on second look, she doesn’t want one either. It’s pretty ugly.

But she does think a bouquet of brightly colored fake flowers would look good in the bedroom. And that glass milk bottle Jemma’s looking at would make an excellent vase.

Sadly, Jemma doesn’t really see the need for either. But she does pick up a bright green, plastic deer that sends them both into a fit of giggles. Skye wants to buy it, until she looks at the price tag. Twenty dollar for a useless hunk of plastic is a rip-off, even if it is hilarious.

Skye has better luck with the pink and purple candle votives she finds next.

“Do we really need to burn candles?” Jemma asks, when Skye presents them to her.

“It’s romantic. Imagine use curled up in bed, under our yet to be purchased duvet cover. There’s no light coming into the room, because of the blackout curtains, so can only see each other through the warm light of the candles,” Skye sets the scene.

“And your laptop screen,” Jemma interrupts.

“Well how else will be enjoying that fake burning fireplace you like to watch at Christmas?” Skye tells her, then continues. “Anyway, we’re curled up under the blankets, enjoying a romantic night in. I bought those chocolate covered cherries you like, and I’m massaging the kinks out of your neck and you’re wearing that silk nightgown I got you for your birthday and—“

“Sold,” Jemma agrees. “But no scented candles, my nose is sensitive.”

Skye rolls her eyes, “You’re a graduate student working in a lab full of toxic chemicals, but your nose is too sensitive for a scented candle?”

Still, she swaps out the lavender tea lights for unscented ones.

\---

All they have left to do it puck up their coffee table and bookcases. Jemma pushes their shopping cart, while Skye grabs a flat cart to load their boxes onto. It won’t steer straight, and she almost crashes into Jemma, but Skye’s too stubborn to put it back and get a new one.

Jemma directly them to the aisle 05, bin 18, moving slowly so Skye can keep up. She checks the label and confirms that it’s the coffee table they want in the right color. The next step is to maneuver it off the shelf.

“We really should have brought one of the boys,” Jemma comments, trying to maneuver her arm around the box.

“Trip and Mack were busy, Ward hates shopping and makes it a miserable experience for everyone involved, Fitz isn’t any stronger than we are, and Lance is… Lance,” Skye inches the box forward until it hands off the shelf enough for her to grab it from underneath.

“And Bobbi?” Jemma helps her pull the box forward.

“On a date,” Skye says just before the box tips forwards and falls towards the floor.

Scrambling, they manage to catch it and lower it down into the cart, but Skye will probably have a couple bruises on her forearms tomorrow. They’re both panting when they’re done.

After they’ve caught their breath, Jemma directs them to aisle 20, bin 06. The new weight in Skye’s cart makes it even harder to maneuver, and she nearly wipes out a display of lawn chairs on the way.

Once again, it takes considerable effort to lower the bookcase off the shelf and onto the cart. It slips from their hands a bit and lands with a crash on top of the coffee table.

“It looks okay to me,” Jemma says, after inspecting both boxes for damage. “I think we skip the second bookshelf for now, though.”

If Skye wasn’t so exhausted, she’s laugh. That’s probably the easiest argument she’s ever won against Jemma.

They make their way to the cash register, Jemma stopping every so often to guide Skye’s cart. They manage to make it without any further incidents.

Skye throws a set of ice pop molds into the cart at the last minute.

After they’ve paid for everything, Jemma waits outside with their purchases while Skye pulls her van around to the loading area. It’s even harder work to lift the boxes up and into the back of the van, but once they’re in everything fits pretty nicely.

And they agree the boxes will stay there until they can convince someone stronger to help them unload it and, if they’re lucky, assemble everything.


End file.
